Booked for 13 nights and had a bad experience with the host as the flat itself had someone smoked before which the host confirmed it’s a non-smoking flat. The smell was there as we can smell it clearly when we walked from the hallway into the flat and also from the bathroom where they are window for ventilation.
We have tried switching on air conditioning in all rooms and left the flat for about 2 hours when we were exploring the mall nearby but the smell was even stronger when we were back to the flat.
The host denied our claims even through they sent a maid in half an hour time and was trying to apply air freshener which we denied as there was no way the smell can be covered and to get rid of the smell permanently. Their staff agreed there were smell but the host claimed the smell were coming from outside which is not true.
We asked for a refund as we decided to move to another flat after all the difficulties we have with the host on the same day.
The host denied a full refund and we have to go through Airbnb resolution which after a lot of debate we have got our money back. Because the Airbnb guarantee requires evidence which is not possible to provide in our scenario, this made our claim very difficult.
Check-in experience: We were asked to meet their staff at an old building nearby but waited for over 45 minutes. Their staff picked us up and drove through the parking spaces in the building and let us in through the entrance at the parking floor. We were given the key at that point. The self checkin is not true.
We found this really strange as we could have our taxi arrived directly to the building so why meet at another building nearby? We later found out from the building notice that daily rental is not allowed.
They have deliberately do this to get away from the management company knowing they are running an Airbnb business.
The flat:
1. All furnitures are quite dated.
2. Cleanness are not good especially the smell. Apart from the cigarette smell, the smell coming from the kitchen drain was also disgusting and the door under the sink was broken.
3. Air-conditioning in each room are not powerful at all. It does cool the room slightly but it’s not enough to feel comfortable. You can also smell the cigarette from the air-conditioner.
4. Wifi is fast.
5. There was a swimming pool in the podium which looks OK.
6. A small mall is just nearby with 2 minutes walk. There was a supermarket there which can be quite convenience. A couple of restaurants there but not a lot to do there really if you are going to stay there for longer than a week.
Overall, not a great area to stay comparing to where we have moved to now. Particularly feel difficult with the host as they simply denied our comments.